Loose leaf binder



Oct. 6, 1936. A w, MCCLURE 2,056,798

LOOSE LEAF BINDER Filed May 25, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l Get. 6, 1936. A. w. M CLURE LOOSE LEAF BINDER 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Filed May 25, 1933 Patented Oct. 6, 1936 PATENT OFFICE LOOSE LEAF BINDER Arthur W. McClure, Syracuse, N. Y., ,assignor to McMillan Book Company, Syracuse, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 25, 1933, Serial No. 672,845

6 Claims.

This invention relates to loose leaf binders and the like in which leaf-impaling members are removably secured at both ends to respective sides of the binder.

:5;- The main object of this invention is to provide a loose leaf binder of the above-mentioned class, with means for automatically securing the leafimpaling members in the binder during the closing of the binder.

One of the specific objects of this invention is to provide a binder of the above-mentioned class with post-retaining mechanism which may be automatically brought into holding engagement with the leaf-impaling posts by the closing of a 5 cover.

Another object of the invention is to provide a loose leaf binder having removable leaf-impaling posts with post-retaining means at opposite sides of the binder which may be quickly and easily manipulated to simultaneously release the cor responding ends of the posts.

A further object is to provide means for automatically aligning the posts with the post -retaining mechanism during the closing of the 2;; binder.

Another object is to provide a loose leaf binder of the above-mentioned class which is economical and durable in constructionand which is simple and positive in operation.

Other objects and advantages pertaining to the structure of the device and to the form and relation of the parts thereof, will more fully appear from the following description'taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:-'-

Figure l is a perspective view of a loose leaf binder embodying the various features of this invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged transverse section taken substantially on line 22, Figure l, in the plane 40 of one of the leaf-impaling posts.

Figures 3 and 4 are transverse sectional views similar to that shown in Figure 2 and taken respectively approximately on lines 33 and 44, Figure 8.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the latch blocks.

Figure 6.is a perspective view of one of the leaf-impaling posts with the central portion thereof broken away.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view with the central portion of the binder broken away and taken in the plane of the line 1-'I, Figure 2.

Figure 8 is a detail'longitudinal sectional view taken on line 8--8, Figure 2', illustrating the latch 1 slide in elevation.

Figure 9 is an enlarged detail sectional view through one of the latch blocks and adjacent portion of the binder taken substantially in the plane of the lines-9, Figure 3.

Figure 10 is a longitudinal detail sectional view taken on line ill-ill, Figure 8.

'As illustrated in the drawings, the device comprises primarily a back member I, two covers 2 and 3 and a pair of impaling post-retaining members 4 and 5. The back member I may be constructed in any well-known manner and, in thisinstance, is made concave-convex in crosssection with a hinge member 8 permanently secured by rivets or other suitable means to the concave or inner side of the back member I. The hinge member 8, as shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4, is concavo-convex in cross-section to correspond to the adjacent surface of the back member and has each longitudinal edge thereof extended a short distance beyond the corresponding edge of the back member I and formed with a plurality of longitudinally spaced hinge eyelets 9, as clearly illustrated at the lower side of the binder in Figure 4.

The covers 2 and 3 are constructed preferably from cardboard or similar material in the conventional manner and, in this instance, each cover has a hinge member Ill positioned therein intermediate the inner and outer surface at the inner longitudinal edge thereof. These hinge members l may be secured to the corresponding cover by rivets as H, or other suitable means, and are secured in coacting relation with the hinge member 8 at respective sides thereof by means of pintle rods I2, as illustrated at the lower side of the binder in Figures 2 and 3.

The post-retaining members 4 and are arranged one adjacent each longitudinal side of the back member and are adapted, when the covers are in the closed position, to lie adjacent the inner hinged edge of a respective cover. These retaining members are substantially identical in construction, so that a description of one will answer for a comprehensive understanding of them both.

Each of the retaining members consists of a tubular housing formed, in this instance, of a pair of angular body members l3 and I4 which are secured together by a plurality of, in this instance three, longitudinally spaced screws I5 which pass through suitable openings in one of the body members as l3 and are screw-threaded in respective sleeves I6v secured by spot-welding back member I and for this purpose, the body a members l3 and I4 have one longitudinal side thereof extended and provided with spaced hinge eyelets I l and I8 respectively, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. r

The body member l3 has its bottom wall near the inner edge thereofcut away to form aligned longitudinally spaced openings each adapted to receive therethrough an end of a respective post 2|. The posts 2|, in this instance, are rectangular in cross-section and each has a-pairof recesses or niches 22 providedin one side thereof. These recesses are arranged one adjacent either end of the post in such a manner that when the post is in the leaf-holding position within the binder, with the end of'the postex-t'ending through a respective opening in the housing,;

said recess will be positioned in the inner chamber as 24 of the housing in alignment with a respective latch block 25, a series of which are mounted in longitudinal spaced 'relation in the housing chamber 24. I

Each of the latch-blocks 25, in this instance, is a rectangular member having a transverse opening 26 adjacent each'end thereof'adap'ted to receive a respective supporting stud 21. These supporting studs 21 are arranged in pairs; one pair for each latch block and each pair issecured at one end by riveting or other means to a plate 28 which, in turn, is secured by'spotwelding or the like to the end wall of the body member l3 adjacent a respective opening '20, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 9.

Each of the latch blocks has the inner edge thereof provided with an extension 29 corresponding-in outline to the-recesses 22 provided in the post 2| and adapted to extend into a respective recess 22 and thereby secure the corresponding end of the posts to the housing. The extension 29 of each of the latch blocks 25 is preferably beveled from the outer inner edge thereof inwardly toward the rear edge-of the blocks, as illustrated more clearly in Figures 2 and 5, to permit the ready entrance of the ends of the posts into the housing while the ends'of the posts may be, as shown in Figures 2 and 6, rounded to assist this action.

Each of the latch blocks 25 is yieldingly urged forwardly toward the post opening 20 by a compression spring 30 mounted in a centrally located inwardly extending recess 3| provided in the rear edge of the block andhaving the other end thereof engaging the corresponding plate 28 These springs 30 are adapted to yieldingly maintain the corresponding latch block in engagement with an end of a leaf-retaining post 2 I, and in order that all of the latch blocks contained in a housing may be simultaneously moved rearwardly against the action of the springs 30 to release the ends of the posts 2|, I have provided a latch slide 33 which is slidably mounted in the housing chamber 24 adjacent the outer sides of the latch blocks contained in'said hous- The latch slide 33 extends outwardly beyond one end of the housing and is provided with a suitable laterally extending portion orhandle 34 made integral therewith for providing a convenient means whereby the slide may be manually moved outwardly against the action of a retraction spring 35 which has one end thereof. secured to a stud 36 mounted on the latch slide '33 and the other end secured to astud 31 mounted on the housing body member [3 at the inner side of the stud 36, as clearly illustrated in Figures 8 and 10.

The latch slide 33, in this instance, has a poring body member l3 and to the latch blocks 25 which are mounted adjacent the inner face of =-said b'odymember l3. The latch slide 33 is also provided adjacent, the inner edge thereof, with a, plurality of, in this instance five, longitudinally spaced slots 39 adapted to align with a corresponding post opening 20 in the housing body -mmber l3 and adapted to receive therein an end of a respective post 2|. The length of these slots 39 is suflicient to permit the necessary longitudinal movement of the slide without the ends of the slots coming in contact with the posts.

The slide 33 is also provided with longitudi nally extendingslots 40 adapted to receive therethrough a corresponding spacing sleeve l6.

Any suitable coacting means may be provided on the latch blocks 25 and latch slide 33 whereby thelongitudinal movement of the latch slide will produce a lateral movement of each of the latch blocks 25 in the'housing to move saidlatch blocks into and out of holding engagement with the posts 2|, and for this purpose, I have provided each latch block with a pair of longitudinally spaced outwardly extending pins 42 adapted to extend into a corresponding cam slot 43 provided in the latch bar 33. These cam slots 43, in this instance, extend inwardly from the rear edge of the slide 33 and have the inner wall as 43' thereof extendingfrom the forward 'end of the slot adjacent the handle 34 to the rear end of the slot at an acute angle to the line of travel of the slide. In other words, the inner wall 43' of each cam slot 43 forms an inclined surface against which the guide pins 42 of each latch block are maintained by the corresponding spring 30 and which isadapted, when the latch slide 33 is moved out-.

wardly, to urge the corresponding latch block rearwardly against the action of the spring 30 and thereby withdraw the extension 29 from engagement with'the recess 22 of a corresponding post and thereby release the posts and when the latch slide is again moved forwardly, to permit the latch blocks to be again yieldingly returned to their innermost latching position by the action of the springs 30. The depth of each cam slot 43 is such that when the ends of the posts enter the chamber 24 through the openings 20,,the latch blocks 25 and pins 42 may be readily moved rearwardly by the posts a distance sufilcient to permit the ends of. the posts to pass beyond the respective extensions 29 on the latch blocks.

While each latch block 25 may be provided with a single cam-engaging actuating pin 42, I preferably employ a pair of these pins, as illustrated in the drawings, which are arranged in spaced regage the extensions 29 of the latch blocks and move said latch blocks rearwardly until the post recesses 22 register with the extensions 29 when said latch blocks will be moved forwardly into the latching position in holding engagement with the posts by the action of the springs 30'.

It may also be understood that when the binder is in the closed position with the ends of the posts 2| secured in a respective post-retaining member 4 or for holding the leaves in the binder, either end of the posts may be readily released to permit additional leaves to be mounted on the posts or to permit leaves already on the posts to be removed therefrom by opening one of the covers as 2 adjacent the side of the binder it is desired to make a change and then releasing the corresponding ends of the posts by moving the latch slide 33 contained in the housing at said end of the posts outwardly relatively to the housing until the pins 42 engage the inner ends of the cam slots 43 when the latch blocks 25 will have been moved rearwardly out of holding engagement with the posts, after which said ends of the posts may be entirely freed by swinging the corresponding housing upwardly about the respective hinge pintle l2 away from the posts.

It is obvious that after the latch slide 33 has been manually moved outwardly to effect the release of the adjacent ends of the posts, the slide will automatically be returned to the normal inner position by the action of the corresponding spring 35 as soon as said slide is released and that the latch blocks 25 will thereby be moved to their normal forward latching position by the springs 38 ready to again engage the ends of the. posts.

After one end of the posts has been released in the manner just described, these free ends may be automatically secured in the binder by merely swinging the corresponding cover to the closed position. This result is effected by the engagement of the cover with the housing of the adjacent retaining member during the closing movement of the cover which causes the housing to swing with the cover about the axis of the respective hinge pintle |2 over the free ends of the posts, and as the cover approaches its normal closed position, the housing will be pressed sufficiently thereby to cause the ends of the posts as they pass inwardly through the respective housing openings 28, to force the corresponding latch blocks 25 rearwardly against the action of the springs 30 until the extensions 29 register with respective post recesses 22, when the springs 30 will force the latch blocks forwardly to the latching position and thereby secure the ends of the posts in the housing.

It is obvious that when one of the retaining members 4 or 5 is actuated to release the corresponding ends of the posts in the manner above described, the back member I will swing outwardly about the pintle rod l2 at the opposite side of the binder away from the posts and leaves mounted thereon. These leaves, as 45, are mounted on the posts 2| in the conventional manner, and for this purpose, they are provided with the customary openings 48 arranged in longitudinal spaced relation along one edge for receiving the posts therethrough.

It will now be apparent that when only one end of the posts is connected with the back member through the medium of a retaining member4 or 5, the posts are maintained in their upright position by the leaves 45, and due to the ease in which the leaves may move relative to each other and assume an askew position, the free ends of the posts very often become moved out of alignment so that when the detached retaining member is brought over the posts, the free ends thereof are not properly aligned with the openings 20 in the housing and, therefore, it is desirous that some means be provided for again bringing the free ends of the posts into position to readily enter the housing openings as the binder is being closed. For this purpose, I have provided the back member with an aligning means which, in this instance, consists of an abutting plate 48 secured in spaced relation to the inner concave side of the back member I by a pair of hinge members 49, one of said hinge members being secured by spot-welding or other suitable means to a respective longitudinal side of the abutting plate 48 and pivotally mounted upon the adjacent hinge pintle l2, as clearly illustrated at the upper side of the binder in Figure 4.

The abutting plate 48 is rectangular in plan view and extends longitudinally of the back member between the retaining members 4 and 5 in such relation to said members that when the binder is closed, the inner edges of the leaves mounted on the posts 2| will terminate in close proximity to or abut against the abutting plate 48. Furthermore, the plate 48 is provided at each end with a guide plate 50 which may be formed integral with the abutting plate 48 or, as shown, be a separate member secured in any suitable manner to the abutting plate, and extends forwardly from said plate at substantially right angles thereto. These guide members 50 are spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the width of the leaves 45 so as to be adapted to engage the sides of the leaves adjacent the inner edges thereof so as to bring the leaves into predetermined relation to the back member when the leaves enter between the guide members, said guide members having their outer ends curved outwardly as at 50' to facilitate the entrance of the leaves therebetween.

A closure plate 5| is also provided at each end of the back member I. Each of these closure plates extends between respective ends of the hinge member 8 and the abutting plate 48, and may be made integral with either one of these plates or secured thereto so as to be permanently maintained in position to form end closures for the space between the back member and the abutting plate 48.

It may now be clearly understood that when the binder is in the open position with one end of the posts 2| released, the sides of the leaves 45 will first be engaged by the guide members 58 as the back member is swung about the lower pintle rod l2 as a pivot toward the posts 2| and thereby have the sides thereof brought into alignment with each other. As the back member approaches the normal upright position, the rear edges of the leaves will be engaged by the abutting plate 48 and be aligned thereby, with the result that as the leaves are thus brought into symmetrical relation, one with another, the posts will be moved thereby into such a position that the free ends thereof will be in alignment with the openings 20 in the housing of the respective retaining member when said retaining member is swung over the posts.

Although the detached retaining member may be, as hereinbefore explained, swung into holding engagement with the free ends of the posts by the action of the cover thereon as said cover is moved to the closed position, it is obvious that the retaining member may also be manually moved into holding engagement with the posts independently of any action of the cover, and although I have shown and particularlydescribed the preferred embodiment of this invention,'I' do notrwish to be limited'to the exact constructionshown, as various changes both in, the form, size and relation'of the parts thereof may readily bemade, without departingfrom the spirit of this invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a loose leaf binder, a binder covering, a plurality of leaf-impaling posts operably connected at one end with the binder covering, a housing, hinge means connecting the housing with the binder covering whereby said housing may be swung toward the free ends of said posts during the closing of the binder, said housing being provided with openings adapted to receive the posts therein when the binder is closed; latch 1 blocks mounted in said housing adjacent the openings for movement toward and fromra latching position at-said openings, a latch slide mounted in said housing adjacent said blocks, and coacting means associated with the slide and with each of said blocks comprising a pin and cam surface adapted to cause said blocks to be moved out of the latching position during a movement of the slide. a

2. In a loose leaf binder comprising a back member and upper and lower covers secured to the back member, a plurality of impaling posts adapted to retain a quantity of paper, said impaling posts being normally; secured tothe back member at both ends but being releasable at least at one end whereby one cover and the back may be thrown rearwardly to enable insertionand removal of sheets of paper, a plurality of latches, means normally urging each of said latches independently of the others into engaging position so that when the cover is brought to closing position, the latches will be automatically secured to the posts, a longitudinally movable slide, means coacting with the slide and latches to retract all the latches simultaneously to disengage the latches from the posts, and means for returning the slide to the normal position whereby the latches are automatically returned to the operative position to enable re-engagement of the posts.

3. In a loose leaf binder, a binder covering comprising a back member and a pair of covers hinged to the back member, a plurality of impaling posts adapted to retain a quantity of paper, said impaling posts being normally secured to the binder covering at both ends but being releasable at least at one end to enable insertion and removal of sheets of paper, a plurality. of latches movable into and out of engagement with the posts, means normally urging each of said latches independently of the others towards post engaging position, means for simultaneously retracting all the latches to disconnect the binder covering from oneend of the posts, said means beingv manually operable while the binder covers are closed,: and said latches being automatically engageable with the posts during the closing of a cover. V 4. In a loose leaf binder, a binder covering comprising a back member and a pair of covers hinged to the backv member, a plurality of impaling posts adaptedto retain a quantity of paper, said impaling posts being normally secured to the binder covering at bothends but being releasable at least at one end to enable insertion andremoval of sheets of paper, a plurality of in'depend ently-mounted rigid latches movable out of and into engagement with the posts, means normally urging each of said latches independently of the others towards post engaging position, means for simultaneously retracting all the latches to disconnect the binder covering from one end of the posts, said means being manually operable while the binder covers are closed, and said latches being automatically engageable with the posts during the closing of a cover. 7

5. In a loose leaf binder, a binder covering comprising a back member and a pair of covers hinged to the back member, aplurality of impaling posts adapted to retain a quantity of paper, said impaling posts being normally secured to the binder covering at both ends but being re-' leasable at least at one end to enable insertion and removal of sheets of paper, a plurality of latches movable into and out of engagementwith the posts, means normally urging each of said latches independently of theothers toward post engaging position, means for simultaneously retracting all the latches to disconnect the binder covering from one end of the posts, said means being manually operable while the binder covers are closed, and means for applying the weight of the cover to the latches during the closing of the cover automatically to engage the binder covering with the posts during the closing of a cover. I 6. In a loose leaf binder, a binder covering comprising a back member and a pair of covers hinged to the back member, a plurality of impaling posts adapted to retain a quantity of paper, said impaling posts being normally secured to the binder covering at both ends but being releasable at least at one end to enable insertion and removal of sheets of paper, a plurality of latches movable out of and into engagement with the posts, means normally urging each of said latches independently of the others toward post engaging position, a longitudinally movable slide for simultaneously retracting all the latches to disconnect the binder covering from one end of the posts, said slide being engageable manually while the covers are closed to move the latches to unlatching position, and means for applying the weight of the cover to the latches during the closing thereof automatically to engage the binder covering with the posts during the closing of a cover.

, ARTHUR W. MCCLURE. 

